23 November 09
Sketchcrawling at the Raptor Center
Lots of bird sketches on Saturday during the Sketchcrawl. There were presentations during the Open House of both dead and live raptors, the live ones used to people, so plenty of opportunity to sketch.
I like drawing skulls because it’s a great way to familiarize myself with the way the bill attaches to the head, which I seem to mess up every time I try it. This golden eagle skull is something I drew several times.
All the birds that are used for educational purposes at the Raptor Center are unreleasable, whether or not they have imprinted on humans. The birds that have a chance of being released are never in public view.
Study skins are good also for learning bird anatomy but I don’t usually draw birds at quite this angle (barred owl on tray, right)!
After our trip to the Raptor Center and some more sketching downtown, we went out to the Yolo Bypass so I could sketch some blackbirds on tules, part of a study for a drawing I want to do as part of a fundraiser for Yolo Audubon. We caught only fleeting glimpses of tricolored blackbirds but I was interested in seeing how they perch, which the redwings do pretty much the same way.
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